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- Local guide
- October 21, 2026
Make Friends After 40 in Cambridgeshire on a New Career Path
One in eight Cambridgeshire residents belongs to the 40-something crowd, and some of them will be retraining or changing careers right now, just like you.
716,000+
Cambridgeshire county residents, excluding Peterborough, at mid-2025 (ONS)
13%
Cambridgeshire forty-somethings as a proportion of all residents (ONS mid-2025)
6%
increase in Cambridgeshire residents in their forties since 2021; the East of England rose 5% (ONS)
Cambridgeshire for a second start at work
Switching careers in your 40s in Cambridgeshire often means leaving behind the colleagues who were your social life. Cambridgeshire Skills runs adult courses that put you in a room with other learners, BRJ Run & Tri in Huntingdon offers Couch to 5k, and Wildlife Trust BCN needs volunteers. Gofrendly can point you to nearby women making a fresh start at work too.
Cambridgeshire questions about friends and fresh starts
Where can adults take courses in Cambridgeshire?
Cambridgeshire Skills is run by the county council, and Ofsted has rated its adult learning good or outstanding. Courses range from skills for work to creative subjects, and learning in a Cambridgeshire classroom gives you a group you see at a fixed time every week.
Is there a Couch to 5k group in Cambridgeshire?
BRJ Run & Tri in Huntingdon, a Cambridgeshire club of about 250 members, offers a Couch to 5k course for adults aged 18 and over. Its 2026 group started with a welcome session in September, so watch the club website for the next intake.
Can I find friends in my 40s in Cambridgeshire after switching careers?
Build a circle that is separate from work so it survives the next change too, and the one after that. Gofrendly, the women-only friendship app, lets you browse women in Cambridgeshire who are local to you and want to meet, whatever they do for a living.
Are there library reading groups in Cambridgeshire?
Yes. Great Shelford Library, for example, runs a monthly reading group on its second Wednesday, and you book your place at the library. Groups also meet at other Cambridgeshire libraries; staff at your branch can tell you which day suits you.
Making friends in Cambridgeshire after a career change
A new career can be exciting and isolating at the same time. In Cambridgeshire you might go from a busy office to working from home, or from a familiar team to a course full of strangers. The upside is that everyone in a classroom or a beginners’ group is new too, so nobody is protecting an inner circle. Fellow learners often turn out to be people in the same transition, swapping one profession for another and keen to compare notes over a drink. Treat the change as a reason to build a fresh circle outside work, one that does not depend on your job title, and you will make friends after 40 who know you for yourself.
The county’s forties population has grown by around 6% since 2021, and plenty of people swap fields mid-career. If the first months of the new routine feel lonely, add one thing unrelated to your work. Some places to begin:
1
Cambridgeshire Skills, the adult learning arm of the county council, rated good or outstanding by Ofsted.
2
BRJ Run & Tri in Huntingdon, a club of about 250 members with a Couch to 5k course for adults.
3
Wildlife Trust BCN, where more than 1,000 volunteers care for reserves across the county.
4
The Great Shelford Library reading group, held each month on its second Wednesday.
5
Ben’s Yard parkrun at the Stuntney estate near Ely, a 5k every Saturday.
LOCAL TIP
New job, new routine, new people to share it with.
How to
Meeting people in Cambridgeshire while you retrain
1
Enrol on a Cambridgeshire Skills course that meets in person each week.
2
Ask BRJ Run & Tri when its next Couch to 5k group begins.
3
Find women in their 40s on Gofrendly who changed career too and compare notes over coffee.
4
Book a place at the Great Shelford Library reading group through the library.
For a fresh start in every sense
Our Cambridgeshire guide and its authors
Our editors and Gofrendly founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja created this Cambridgeshire guide with retrainers and career changers in mind: 40-something women who would like friends outside work.
Friendship looks different at every stage
More guides for women in this area – each with its own local advice.
Friendship looks different at every stage
More guides for women in this area – each with its own local advice.
Find women near you
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